UN Fact-Finding Committee: Iranian Government Intensifies Efforts to Suppress Women and Girls on the Second Anniversary of Nationwide Protests

The UN fact-finding committee today released a new 11-page report warning that the Iranian government has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and "destroy the remnants of women's activism" two years after the start of the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the "morality police." The report states that although mass protests have subsided since then, the ongoing defiance of women and girls serves as a reminder that they still live in a system that reduces them to "second-class citizens." This independent international committee described the "Noor Plan" as a repressive action by the government and added that officials of the Islamic Republic have encouraged human rights violations against women who defy mandatory hijab. The report notes that the so-called "Hijab and Chastity" bill is in the final stages of approval by the Guardian Council, and if passed, it would impose harsher penalties on those who do not comply with mandatory hijab, including hefty financial fines, longer prison sentences, restrictions on job and educational opportunities, and travel bans. The committee's statement also mentioned that "violent behavior, including beating and kicking women and girls, has intensified, and surveillance for hijab compliance using technology has increased." The UN fact-finding committee also expressed concern over the new pattern of issuing death sentences for women, emphasizing that the death penalty is used as a deterrent and tool of intimidation against Iranians. Accordingly, the committee states that this trend affects the families of protest victims, journalists, human rights defenders, and government critics. According to the statement, "meaningful accountability for gross human rights violations and international law, including crimes against humanity, is out of reach for victims and survivors, including women and children." As stated in the statement, "Without creating deterrence for the government, access to fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be envisioned." The fact-finding committee has called on the Islamic Republic to immediately halt all executions of protesters and abolish the use of the death penalty. The committee also demanded the unconditional release of all detainees from these protests, especially women and children, an end to all repressive policies and institutional actions designed to suppress women and girls, and to prevent the continuation of violence and discrimination against women, including through the so-called "Hijab and Chastity" bill. This independent international committee has urged world governments to "investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for crimes committed against women and girls in the Women, Life, Freedom movement based on the principle of universal jurisdiction and without procedural limitations." The report also stated that "asylum requests should be expedited, and humanitarian visas should be provided for victims of human rights violations, especially those who have suffered serious harm in life or are facing severe harassment; particularly women and children." On Friday, March 9, 2023, the UN fact-finding committee also reported that "institutional discrimination against women and girls" in Iran constitutes "a violation of human rights and a crime against humanity in the context of recent protests." The fact-finding committee's report comes as the Islamic Republic has intensified severe crackdowns and widespread arrests in the lead-up to the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in "morality police custody."